Banana Cream Pie Asparagus Muffins

Ingredients:

2 ¾ cup of organic unbleached white flour
½ cup of organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder, slightly rounded
1 teaspoon of baking soda
¼ tsp finely ground sea salt
½ cup of organic asparagus purée
¼ cup water
4 large cage-free organic egg whites
½ cup of vanilla seltzer water
2 teaspoons organic sunflower oil
½ cup organic whole milk
2 cups (about 4) puréed ripe bananas

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Banana Custard* in advance.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F.
3. Line the muffin pans with colorful paper liners.
4. In a large mixing bowl, sift the dry ingredients together: white flour, oat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
5. Rinse and chop the asparagus into 2" chunks. Steam them until they're soft. In a food processor, purée 1 cup of steamed asparagus with 1/4 cup of water. The purée will be slightly chunky. Set it aside.
6. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until they're frothy.
7. Add the seltzer water to the egg whites and whisk until it's frothy and bubbly.
8. Add the vanilla extract, the asparagus purée (it should be about 1/2 cup of purée), the oil and the milk to the egg white mixture. Whisk until it's creamy and frothy.
9. Purée the bananas with the oil in the food processor and add it to the liquid mixture. Whisk until it's well blended and frothy.
10. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly add the liquid ingredients, blending slowly. Don't over stir the batter.
11. Fill the muffin pan liners 3/4 of the way with batter.
12. Bake for 16-18 minutes (or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean).
13. Partially cool the muffins in the pan and then remove them onto a wire rack to complete cooling.
14. When ready to serve, fill the muffins with Banana Custard. Top with Vanilla Whipped Cream and Toasted Coconut. Serve immediately.

*Shortcut: use pre-made banana or vanilla pudding instead of Banana Custard.

Banana Custard

Ingredients:

2 pints heavy whipping cream
½ cup organic cane sugar
¼ tsp sea salt
7 large organic free-range egg yolks (save 4 eggs whites for the muffins)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 very ripe bananas, puréed

Instructions:

1. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan with the salt and 1/4 cup of sugar until it's simmering.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks with the cornstarch and the remaining sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Note: save four of the egg whites for the muffin recipe.
3. When the cream is simmering, slowly add some of it to the cornstarch egg mixture to temper it so you don't end up with scrambled eggs. Use half the simmering cream to do this.
4. Then pour the tempered cornstarch mixture into the remaining simmering cream and whisk it until thickens.
5. Add the butter and continue to whisk.
6. Remove the custard from heat, and add the vanilla extract.
7. Purée or mash the bananas.
8. Add them to the custard and whisk it until it's creamy.
9. Strain the custard through a sieve into a bowl using the back of a wooden spoon.
10. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, making sure it sticks to the custard so you don't get the "pudding skin." Refrigerate for 2+ hours before using the custard. Note: Put the custard in the refrigerator immediately and keep refrigerated (to prevent salmonella).